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Eric G. Pearson

Senior Counsel

Eric G. Pearson is a business litigation lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP, where his practice involves counseling and litigating in a variety of areas, including appellate litigation, professional-malpractice cases, and financial- and accounting-related controversies. In addition, he has represented clients in internal investigations and enforcement-defense actions in the financial, health care, and sports industries. Mr. Pearson is a member of the firm’s Appellate, Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution, and Government Enforcement, Compliance & White Collar Defense Practices.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Pearson served as a law clerk for Judge Diane S. Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from 2007-08.

Representative Cases

Represents Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. in connection with Native American litigation arising out of a bond transaction for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. This work includes litigating simultaneously in federal, state, and tribal courts and involves issues related to tribal sovereign immunity, the tribal-exhaustion doctrine, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Represented Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. in State of Wis. ex rel. Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. v. Circuit Court for Milwaukee County, in which the law firm sought a supervisory writ of prohibition to prevent the circuit court from rendering judgment based on its pre-litigation advice to its client. 2012 WI App 120, 344 Wis. 2d 610, 823 N.W.2d 816. After oral argument, the court of appeals granted the writ.

Represented Morgan Drexen in In re Morgan Drexen, Inc., No. 10-S-127, in state and agency proceedings in which the administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (Division of Banking) conducted a three-day contested-case hearing regarding the Department’s ability to regulate lawyers and legal assistants as adjustment-service companies under Wis. Stat. § 218.02. Morgan Drexen challenged the agency’s authority under § 218.02 on statutory-interpretation and separation-of-powers grounds.

Other Representative Experience

Represented a multi-billion dollar financial institution in an internal investigation and subsequent SEC investigation stemming from allegations that the bank had fraudulently overstated the value of its loan portfolio to investors and regulators. This work included cooperating with a shadow audit conducted by the bank’s Big Four auditor.

Represented a Japanese citizen (and former CEO of a global company’s US division) in a DOJ investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive industry.

Represented a Fortune 500 company in an internal investigation regarding allegations that it violated FDA regulations by marketing medical devices before receiving 510(k) clearance.

Represented a middle-market wholesaler and distributor in the internal investigation of a multi-million dollar employee fraud. This work included working with forensic accountants, identifying the failure of certain internal controls, reporting to the audit committee and to the company’s Big Four auditor, and cooperating with a federal criminal investigation.

Represented a group of private-equity funds in a AAA arbitration regarding the seller’s representations concerning the value of certain contracts for supplying materials at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Education

Mr. Pearson is a graduate of Marquette University, with degrees in law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2007) and economics (Honors B.S., summa cum laude, 2005), where he received the Walter M. Froehlich Award for the Outstanding Senior in Economics, and was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Sigma Nu.